This orange liqueur from Van Perlstein is about average priced, around €6,- for a 35CL bottle, and contains 30% alcohol (60 proof).

As shown the bottle has nothing special going on, just a normal regular bottle. The orange fluid inside has surprisingly little alcohol in it's smell, it's mostly smelling like a orange based soda (like fanta, etc).It's a very light crisp smell, with no bitterness.

That bitterness does come out in the aftertaste thought. The front end remains a bit light, but the orangy/citrus is not as prominent as in the smell.After that initial orangy taste, the bitterness starts to hit on the back of the tongue. Yet again not much alcohol taste, but you will get some hints of it when the alcohol starts to evaporate inside the mouth, and by that time the lips and edges of the tongue will start to tingle a bit from the alcohol.There isn't a real burning or warming sensation in the throat though.

Since it really is, Regular Bailey's, with a hint of Coffee. Not a fake cheap coffee, but a nice and smooth one with a darker hint to the coffee bit.Ofcourse because of the Bailey's itself the drink is creamy, therefor mellowing out every sharp edges there might be. But the coffee taste itself does have a little bit of a sharpness to it, but that is probably the combination of a little bit of mint that is working together with the coffee to create that effect.

Just to clarify things, i thought it might be handy to write a post about how i actually write my reviews.

For starters all my spirits are in the same room, where the temperature usually doesn't change too much. Usually i grab a shotglass and fill it about half way, and then ad a drop of water to unleash some of the aroma's that are trapped in the alcohol.

After spending some time sniffing the drink, quick, long, just above the glass or almost diving in, i get to the tasting part. Usually the first sip tends to be a bit alcoholic, if it's your first drink of the day, so when ignoring that, i take a few sips. Some bigger ones, some smaller ones. Some i swallow right away, some i swirl around inside the mouth for a while.And then comes the hard part of discribing what you actually taste. Try grabbing a regular drink (doesn't have to be alcoholic) and discribe what it taste and smells like. It can be quite tricky.

This white rum is named after the Jamaican capital Kingston, contains 37.5% alcohol (75 proof) and is around the middle/lower budget range of rums. Costing around €13/14,- for a 100CL bottle.

While some white rums are a little bit coloured, this one is as clear as it can get. As the picture shows the bottle is just a average looking bottle, nothing to write home about.

The scent is a sharp one, that hints towards ethanol, but isn't strong. Not much rum in the nose, but what you do get is really light.

When drinking this spirit, you will notice a little numbing on the sides of the tongue and quite allot of alcohol. Not that it burns, the alcohol taste is more from the nose department as it vaporises in your mouth.A typical sharp but light rum that doesn't have allot of forced sweetness.

Pisang Ambon Mellow is a banana flavoured liqueur from Lucas Bols, contains 14.5% alcohol ( 29 proof ) and around €12,- for a 70CL bottle. The Mellow version has a bit less alcohol then the normal version, and is therefor allowed to be sold in more places.

There isn't allot to tell about the colour and bottle that you can't see in the picture, so i'll just leave it at that.

The bottle tells me it is a exotic fruit drink with a hint of banana taste. Well when smelling it, i do get banana. No subtile fruity banana tho, but candy like. In fact the aroma reminds me of the round chewing gum you can grab from a machine.You don't really have to drown your nose in the drink to smell it, it's a strong scent that grabs you, even when just opening the bottle. But not offensive at all.

A cinnamon schnapps from Lucas Bols, with actual gold(flakes) in it. Altho allot of cinnamon schnapps seem to handle the gold theme.

Facts are; 23.5 karat gold flakes that float around(no, they do not cause harm and are digested just fine), costs around €15,- for a 50CL bottle, and contains 50% alcohol (100 proof).

Now to start off, yes, the goldflakes do look awesome, and since the *servingtip* is to drink the liqueur chilled as shots, you can enjoy them in all their glory.Besides the gold, the liquid crystalclear.

Diving in nosefirst results in a little alcoholsmell, but just a tiny amount. With less drastic smelling tactics the drink has a very strong cinnamon smell to it.And in fact, the same goes for the taste. At first, it will start to tingle on the tip of the tongue, give you a cinnamon explosion in your mouth, and end in a warm little burn in the upper throat.

Another product from Boomsma Distillery, a gold/dark rum. 37.5% (75 proof) alcohol, and blended from a few different Caribbean rums.With a price around €9,- for a 70CL bottle, priced more towards the lower budget range.

That reveals itself in the smell a little bit. You do get quite some ethanol if you dive in deep. But also a darker rum smell that isn't overwelming strong, but smells a bit warm. With a very tiny hint of spice (caramel) once in a while. Since the label tells me well matured, no surprise there.

The taste pure is not for the weak hearted, from almost nothing initially on the tongue, to a dark heavy rum near the back of the tongue. With a little tickling on the sides of the tongue from the alcohol, that turns into a warm feeling further down the throat. The alcohol evaporating right away in the mouth causes a strong taste/smell sensation at first, but dims out quite a bit after you are used to it.Then it takes place for a more bitter, i almost want to say woody taste. But not as in whiskey, not sweet, no smoke.

When mixed into other drinks all alcohol related smell and taste issues disappear right away, as usual. What remains is a dark/bitter rum taste, in a more mellow way. Exactly as the well matured on the bottle suggested.

Few facts: I'm from the Netherlands, and live near the German border, and besides explore different alcohols, like to play some guitar once in a while.Usually the *reviews* are brands i find in stores near my home, and often those are smaller brands with little or no information about them available, but i also write down more know brands i get my hands on.For more info, just send me a mail using the button below, or directly to liquorists@hotmail.com.